One June Morning
by plansandsilhouettes
Summary: A short story describing the day of Ron's proposal, about a year after the Battle. A sweet insight into their life together, rather fluffy! Could also be viewed as a prequel to my story 'The Willows'.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is quite a short chapter,, and it's in a bit of an odd style...I don't usually write in the present, but I wanted to try something new. I will be adding the chapter containing the proposal _very _soon, so look out for that! Please leave a review:)**

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It was early June, and Hermione Granger was nineteen years old. She would be twenty in the autumn, and was nervous about entering a new decade, but also hopeful. Her life was turning out to be wonderful. She had Ron, a flat together, and a job that she enjoyed and that paid well, as did Ron, and together they were happy. Happy to be alive, to be together, and to have survived. Not everyone had…a month previously, a memorial had been held, on the first anniversary of the battle. The first year without Fred, without Tonks, without Lupin, had passed. Commemorating the day they had died had been excruciating, and had threatened to bring back the grief they had barely overcome. But they had been strong, and remembered those they had lost with dignity, and knowing that they would not want them to dwell, but make the most of the better world they had helped create.

Now it is early morning, a Saturday, and she is stretching, and yawning. She sits up, looking down at the tangled red mess of hair that is all she can see of Ron. She smiles, gets up, and opens the curtains. It's a beautiful, sunny day. She wants to get out of London today. To the country, somewhere where the air is fresh and she can feel the breeze. Somewhere they can spend a lazy day, sunbathing and picnicking, and she can read to Ron. That had become a habit of theirs. Ron did not always enjoy the books she read to him – most were related to the rights of underprivileged non-human magical creatures – but he listened anyway, simply for the sake of hearing her voice. She decides that she will talk to Ron about this when he wakes up, and looks down at him once more, smiling, before silently heading into the bathroom, stroking Crookshanks as he pads through the bedroom door, which has been left slightly ajar.

* * *

Ron awakens to the sound of the shower, and a low, off-key humming. Hermione. He smiles widely, and strokes the cat on the bed. He appreciates these moments, in the morning, when he wakes up in their shared bed, in their shared flat, in their shared _lives._ He is blissfully happy, nauseatingly so – or so George makes out. He glances surreptitiously around the room, focusing on the bathroom door, and decides that his girlfriend will be in there for a while yet. He opens the drawer by his side of the bed, and finds the small, cube, velvety black case that he has hidden under some parchment and a Quidditch magazine. This he holds carefully, and opens it, stroking the beautiful diamond ring inside it. The ring is white gold, and holds a single diamond – nothing too large, but big enough – flanked by tiny, delicate pearls on each side. Harry agreed that it was perfect for Hermione; he even helped him choose, three months ago. Three months, Ron has been waiting to propose to Hermione, but had not found the right time. He had wanted to do it before the memorial, but felt like an engagement would distract everyone from that important event, and since then there had not been an opportune moment. He knows he can't wait much longer – he keeps nearly introducing her as 'my fiancée', and if he slips up, it will spoil everything. He looks out the window, because the sun is falling on the bed, a rare occurrence in an English summer. It's a glorious summer's day. Perfect, he thinks. He wants to propose somewhere other than London though, somewhere cosy, and peaceful. He thinks immediately of his childhood home, the surrounding countryside, and the secluded areas. Today, they would be visiting the Burrow, and he would find somewhere near there to propose. For now though, the ring is put back in its hiding place, and Ron prepares to start the day. He stretches and climbs out of bed, and gets up gingerly, making his way towards the bedroom door, heading to make two cups of tea.

* * *

Hermione steps out of the shower, and faces the mirror. She feels fresh and clean. Her damp hair tickles her shoulders. She looks at herself in the mirror, considering herself. Hermione has never deemed herself to be a great beauty, and she still does not. Since she has been with Ron, though, she has felt beautiful. He praises all of her, and makes her believe, almost, that she is as perfect as she says. She smiles at the thought of the many compliments Ron has paid her in the year that they have been officially together, and for a split second, she sees what he sees. Someone radiating happiness, looking perfectly lovely, even though her hair is damp and she is not wearing any makeup at all. Happy with herself, Hermione opens the door to their bedroom, and finds Ron sat up in bed, stroking Crookshanks, and reading the latest issue of _Quidditch Weekly_, with a cup of tea on his beside. He looks up at her and grins. She smiles back, and thanks him for the tea that is on her bedside. He tells her she looks beautiful as she moves about the room, and she thanks him, before ordering him into the shower, telling him her plans for the day whilst he hauls himself out of bed. He readily agrees, and adds his own idea for the location, for which she agrees, as she secretly misses Mrs Weasley's cooking. Then he moves towards her, puts his hands around her waist, kissing her softly on the mouth, and tells her he loves her. She loves him too, but wants him to go and shower.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here it is then: the proposal! This chapter is short, but sweet, and is how I imagine Ron would propose.**

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They apparate just outside the fence of the Burrow, and walk in to greet Mrs Weasley. She's delighted to see them, as always, and assures them that it will be her pleasure to have them for lunch. Mr Weasley greets them both equally as happily, and then retreats to his shed as his wife begins to cook. She informs them that lunch will be ready in an hour and half, and releases them. They walk outside, down the path and out of the gate. All around, the grass is long, reaching Hermione's bare knees in some places. She is wearing a cornflower blue summer dress, and Ron informs her that she looks beautiful. She smiles, and asks where they are going. He seems to be leading her somewhere, somewhere he has not led her before.

* * *

This is true. Ron is leading her to the place he has been saving for today. It's a cool, calm place, by a stream, where he and his brothers used to collect frogspawn. It has a small pier jutting into the river, over which the branches of a weeping willow hang, casting dancing, flickering spots of sunlight over the wood. The grass is lush and green here, and there are tiny wildflowers scattered throughout it, on which tiny white butterflies land occasionally. Ron conjures a picnic blanket and spreads it on the pier, after which he conjures several pillows for good measure. The couple remove their shoes and set them carefully aside. Hermione dips her feet carefully in the stream as Ron arranges the cushions and then they lie down, holding hands, and looking up to the boughs of the tree hanging over them. Ron's feet hang over the edge, and are tickled repeatedly by the hanging branches of the tree. They stay like this for a while, talking and laughing, with Ron checking his pocket every so often, to make sure he still has the ring.

* * *

After about half an hour, Hermione wishes to read. She pulls a book out of her beaded bag, which she has kept for its sheer utility, and begins to read it: _A History of Relations between Wizards and the Merpeople of England_ by Cuthbert Ceasg. Ron rests his head on her lap as she sits up to read, and listens to the sound of her voice, which mixes pleasantly with the trickling of the stream and the rustling of the leaves around them. Both of them are enjoying the peace and fresh air, as well as each other's company. It's good to get out of London.

* * *

Another half an hour passes, and Ron glances at his watch. He is relaxed, but acutely aware that lunch will be in half an hour or so, and that he has to propose before that. He gets up, and stretches. Hermione stops reading and looks up him. She can see he wants to talk about something – she can see it, easily, because he looks awkward and fidgety, and his face looks worried – so she pats the blanket next to her. He sits, and takes her hand in both of his, holding it lightly. He tells her how pretty she looks, once more, and then kisses her softly on the mouth. She smiles, and thanks him, and asks what he wants to tell her. A short discussion ensues of how she knows that he has something to say – she knows him, she says, she has watched him intently for years, and he argues that he knows her too. They conclude that they are both far too predictable, but that they love one another.

Then it comes. Ron speaks for a short time, blunderingly, awkwardly, and trying to convey how much he needs and wants Hermione, forever. She replies at all the right moments that she needs him too, and could not live without them. They kiss gently and sweetly, more than once, and then Ron concludes his speech by pulling out the ring, and asking Hermione to be his wife. She exclaims, and bursts into tears, and hugging him tightly. She is shaking, and Ron does not quite know how to feel, but then she draws back from the embrace, and looks down at the ring, still sobbing, and then back at him. She chokes out:

'Yes, yes, _yes_, Ron.'

And that is all she manages before dissolving into tears, so she kisses him (wetly) and they hug until Hermione calms down. Then Ron slips the ring on her finger, and she admires it, thanking him. Both of them are deliriously happy, and simply sit for while, chattering incessantly; until Ron remembers that they were meant to be at lunch, fifteen minutes ago. For a minute he worries that his mother will be angry, but he knows that as soon as he introduces Hermione as 'my fiancé', lunch will be completely forgotten.

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**Well? I wanted the only dialogue in the whole story to be Hermione's response, for effect, and I used the present because, well, it's unusual! Please tell me what you thought!:)**


End file.
